Mr. Arbirlot, a Scotch gentleman, left extremely handsome legacies to a number of his friends. The lawyer who wrote down his wishes, looked up from time to time to ascertain whether his client could be in earnest; at last he could not refrain from asking him whether he was sure his assets would cover all these bequests. At this the humorous testator burst out laughing, admitting that of course they wouldn’t, only he didn’t like to go out of the world without leaving the expression of his regard for these legatees, by showing what he _would_ have done for them if he had _had_ the means. No doubt the intention was a benevolent one; but we doubt whether the joke was one calculated to be received in a spirit of affectionate gratitude, especially by the executors, whose equanimity would have been put to a severe test had the puzzle not been explained before the testator’s death. A REMARKABLE ANNUITY A county newspaper some years ago recorded the death of a Major Hook, and spoke of him as “a singular character.” “He died,” says the report, “on Monday sennight, at his house, Ham Street, Ham Common. He was an officer in the East India Company’s service, and reached the age of seventy-five. His house was remarkable for its dingy and dilapidated condition.” His wife had become entitled to a life annuity, bequeathed to her in these ambiguous terms: “And the same shall be paid to her as long as she is above ground.” When, therefore, the good lady died, her husband very naturally objected to forfeit this income by putting her _below_ ground; and ingeniously devised a mode of keeping her in a room which he allotted “to her sole and separate use,” placing a glass-case over her remains. For thirty years he thus prolonged his enjoyment, if not of his wife’s society, at least of her income. TO HELP YOUNG NEWSPAPER MEN William J. Haskett, a lawyer, who died in New York in 1890, left a will containing this curiously worded clause: “I am informed that there is a society composed of young men connected with the public press; and as in early life I was connected with the papers, I have a keen recollection of the toils and troubles that bubbled then and ever will bubble for the toilers of the world in their pottage caldron; and as I desire to thicken with a little savory herb their thin broth in the shape of a legacy, I do hereby bequeath to the New York Press Club of the City of New York, $1000, payable on the death of Mrs. Haskett.” ANGELIC VIRTUE REQUIRED